


Letting Love Grow

by RenaissanceLiterature



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Budding Love, F/M, First Time, Love, One Shot, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:55:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenaissanceLiterature/pseuds/RenaissanceLiterature
Summary: (Set post season 3):After the battle has been won, and the heros return to the far reaches of Xadia, Callum and Rayla are given the chance to be alone for a while and see what this budding romance of theirs could really mean. They're both young and new at this, but once they learn to trust each other and let their guards down, they'll find magic and love really aren't that different.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 212





	Letting Love Grow

The wind had finally calmed down at the top of the dragon’s mountain. The clouds had dissipated and laid bare the breathtaking view of Xadia’s vast plains and distant forests. Were it not for the help of some choice magic, the word ‘breathtaking’ would have been quite literal. But as the sun shined down on a peaceful country after a horrible battle had raged between the elves, humans, and whatever those fire-demon things were, one could be forgiven for believing war didn’t exist in a place so naturally peaceful. 

Callum, on the other hand, was more interested in the view of some food. In the shadow of doom and in the rush of battle, he’d neglected to eat anything for nearly two sunsets now and his stomach was raging for his attention. It groaned and growled beneath his jacket as if giving an impression of his grumpy lizard friend Bait. “Give me a minute, I’m lookin…” he said to sooth his warring belly. 

After the battle had ended and little Zim reunited with his mother, the band of elves and humans set to clearing the battlefield and securing the Dragon Queen’s safety. Ezra had become quite the little leader too, laying out a plan for peacefully delivering war heros to their homes and bringing peace back to Xadia. Now there was just a few of them left on the mountain top, and regrettably none of them had spared a meat pie for poor Callum. 

“Do dragon’s keep people-food in their mountain lairs?” he wondered aloud as he wandered around the cavernous mountain hall. 

“No, but the people keep people-food here,” he heard from behind him. Turning, he saw Rayla standing behind him with a cheeky smirk tossing some round fruit between her hands. “Catch!”  
  


Callum was to hungry to use his hands, so he simply opened his mouth and caught the purple fruit in his mouth and bit down. “Mmmmmffff”, he moaned in satisfaction. The fruit had a tart sweetness that filled his mouth fully, and a little juice ran down the corner of his mouth as he savored the flavor. “Hhanf ouuff.”

  
“You’re welcome,” she said with a confident smirk and ran her thumb across his cheek to clean him up. “Hard to believe someone with your manners could’a ever been raised as a prince.”

He swallowed his bite in delight and ignored her jab. “Loving food runs in my family. Especially after a victorious battle.” 

He quickly dove in for another bite and she shook her head at his manners or lack thereof. She popped her thumb into her mouth to savor some of the flavors herself. “The other moon-shadow elves have heard what happened here. I don’t know what they’ll do about it, but those that fought here will remember that humans and elves stood together, and that the dragon-prince lives. Hopefully that changes a few minds back home.”

Callum wiped his own mouth this time and gave her a hopeful look. “You mean they’ll drop the whole ‘ghost’ banishment thing?”

“Maybe,” she said with a shrug. “I was more meanin’ it’d be easier to introduce you to the folks back home.”

“Hmmm,” he thought. “I could always try out my elf disguise again.”

She shook her head and pinched her brow. “The _one_ elf we tried that on saw right through it, so I don’t think that’ll work. Besides…” she said and placed her hand on his shoulder, drawing him closer. “... I don’t want you to have to hide anymore. I want people to see you the way I do.”

He smiled and placed a hand over hers. He felt a warmth in his chest that was growing more familiar and welcome day by day. The battle they had lived through had nearly killed her, and in that moment he was feeling grateful just to have her alive and in front of him. Her smile was genuine and it felt natural to give her one back. He placed his other hand under her chin and leaned forward. 

“Ahem…” They both stood tall and reflexively separated at the sound of someone else joining in. 

“Ezran!” he exclaimed. His younger brother stood their with Bait in his arms who looked at them with a grumpy look of disapproval, and even though that was his default expression it felt more real just now. Callum nervously scratched the back of his neck under his scarf. “We were just––”  
  


“I know,” the little king said with a slightly disgusted face. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

Rayla fidgeted with her blade handles on her back nervously. “Is there something ya need?”

“Yeah, the Dragon Queen wants to speak with you.”

They both opened their mouths in mild shock. Rayla stepped forward. “She wants to see me?”

Ezran nodded. “Both of you, actually.”

“Woah,” Callum said, suddenly nervous about seeing the massive blue dragon privately. “What for?”

“She didn’t say, but she said it’s important.”

Ezran turned and led them through the stone corridors through the grand doorway that led to the Queen’s lair. The air was warmer inside, and a few luna moths idly fluttered from one lush flower to the next. Inside, the great beast sat coiled as she had when they first arrived. But this time she was wide awake and watching her young child play with the end of her tail. 

The baby dragon heard the three of them enter and gave an excited yip upon seeing them. He scampered forward and lept into Ezra’s arms with a thud. The boy laughed and fell to the floor, giving the little prince lots of affection. “Awww, hey Zim!” 

Callum felt the air shift as a thunderous beat surged through them. He realized it was the Dragon Queen laughing lightly, and the thought made him nervous. He did not want to see her angry. “Welcome,” her low voice boomed. 

“Your majesty,” Rayla said smartly with a bow. Callum quickly and anxiously mirrored her gesture. “You wanted to speak with us?”

“Yesss,” she said slowly. Callum guessed that that much muscle and teeth probably took a lot of effort to speak with, so she spoke slowly to save her energy. “I owe the three of you a very special token of gratitude.”

Ezran stood back up and gazed up at the majestic beast with a kind of fondness only he could summon for creatures like her. “You three,” she continued, “Saved my son and brought him safely back to me. For years I had assumed that he had been lost, and that it was the vile human race to blame.”

Callum gulped and took a step closer to Rayla. “Yeah well…” he said nervously, “Just tryin’ to do what’s right.”

“I confess…” the queen continued. “That my feeling of sorrow and grief led me to think poorly of elven kind as well, as if everyone who was not my own was culpable. But you three have shown me that enemies can become friends, and my faith in humanity and in elven kind is restored. So I thank you with a gift. Come closer.”

Callum watched as Ezran and Rayla stepped closer and took more steps towards the Queen, who lowered her massive snout and seemed to smile gently. They all came closer, her hot breath washing over them and blowing Callum’s scarf backwards. Little Zim leapt onto Ezra’s shoulder and watched eagerly as his mother came closer. 

Then, her massive claws reached forward towards her forehead. She pinched two spear-sized claws together and plucked something out from her face. Slowly, the claw extended forward and displayed three shimmering blue scales. 

“Your majesty!” Rayla said with a gasp. 

“Take them,” the Queen urged them. “As long as you keep them with you, you’ll never be truly lost.”

“I…” Rayla stuttured, “I don’t know what to say, your grace… Thank you.”

The three of them stepped forward and each took one of the scales in their hands. Callum eyed his closely. The scale was small enough to fit in his palm, but bright enough to almost see his reflection in. He felt something emanate from it, a bit like primal magic only… alive somehow. From Rayla’s reaction, he could tell this was a rare and significant gift. 

“Thank you, your majesty,” he said calmly. 

“Yes,” Ezran said with a nod. “We will treasure these always.”

Zim gave another excited yip, and licked Ezra’s cheek affectionately. His mother smiled. “I can see the two of you have created a special bond.”

Ezran giggled at Zim’s kisses and gave his white mane some loving scratches. “Yeah! Zim’s a great friend.”

The Queen laughed again. “I’m grateful that he had someone so kind when he was born. It is a rare thing for a dragon and a human to form such bonds. The king, my love, once believed it was impossible for humans and dragons to live as friends. But you’ve shown me that bonds like that can only serve to strengthen us all.”

The queen then turned her attention to Callum and Rayla. “... Which brings me to you two.”

“Us?” Callum and Rayla said in unison, shooting each other a nervous glance. 

“Yes,” she said with a nod. Her piercing blue eyes were entrancing and terrifying at the same time. “King Ezran, would you mind taking my son and allowing us some privacy?”

The boy gazed back at the two of them in confusion for a moment, then back at the queen. He gave a polite bow before turning towards the door. “Come on Zim! You haven’t tried these fruit tarts yet. You’re gonna love them!” 

The queen waited until Ezran and the dragon prince were out the chamber doors before turning back towards them. “You both share another bond. One that I’ve never seen before between your kinds.” 

“Well… uhhh,” Callum fidgeted with his scarf. His cheeks felt flush. 

The Queen moved even closer until the tip of her nose was within arms reach. “I have lived long enough to know love when I see it. What are your names?”

Rayla and Callum both blushed, but he took another step closer to her and took her hand in his, lacing her three fingers between his five. “My name is Callum, your majesty. And this is Rayla.”

The queen smiled and nodded. “Ahhh, the daughter of Lain and Tiadrin. I recognized your fire. And you, young mage. You possess are able to let the force of primal magic flow through you as an elf would. Tell me, when did you first learn this power?”

“Ummm,” Callum thought back. “I don’t know, maybe a month or so ago, back when we were still traveling through Katolis.”

The queen hummed and pondered his story. “And, was Rayla there with you?”

“Yeah, actually. She’s been there the whole time,” he realized. 

“I see,” the queen said. “It is as it is with all beings then…”

Rayla stepped forward. “Your majesty, what do you mean?” 

“Rayla, do you know why I insisted to be protected by married couples like your mother and father?” Rayla cocked an eyebrow for a moment but shook her head and looked back at the queen with curiosity. “It is because of love.”

“Love…” Callum repeated. “You mean that guards who love each other make better fighters?”

The queen shook her head. “No, nothing so simple. Love is a source of power and strength… the purest one there is. Those who seek power through fear think that is the true nature of magic. But they can merely imitate where magic truly thrives. Love creates a bond where power flows from one person to the other in an ever growing circle until their strength together is greater than any they could achieve on their own.”

Rayla looked at the ground with a hard focus. “So my mother and father were powerful because they were together?”

The queen nodded. “And you are too… both of you.” The queen turned to Callum. “You, young mage. You have conquered the sky arcanum. If I am not mistaken, your magic is stronger when you focus on her.”

Callum’s eyes widened. He turned to Rayla and squeezed her hand tight. “She’s right! The only reason I got the mage-wings spell to work was because I was so afraid of losing you! I knew right then how I felt.”

“How is this possible?” Rayla said in astonishment, turning back to the Dragon Queen. 

“I’ve seen it before with elves, and I have seen it with dragons, and I always suspected humans shared a similar strength… but I confess that I have never seen it between an elf and a man.”

“Being the first to do something impossible… yeah that sounds like us,” Callum said confidently. 

The queen took another moment to glance at the door again before speaking in a softer voice. “If I may, you are both young. Have you had an opportunity to let your love flourish?”

Callum furrowed his brow in confusion. He pondered with his finger on his chin for a moment, scratching idly. “Well, we’ve been in a rush to get Azimondias here for so long, and then there was the battle and all… I guess we haven’t had the chance to spend time together when the world isn’t depending on us.”

Rayla spoke with an annoyed tone. “Oye, I could use a break from that. But what d’you mean about letting love ‘flourish’?”

The Queen clarified. “A bond like yours requires time together for it to grow. And the more your bond grows, the stronger it will make you both.”

“But your majesty…” Rayla said with concern. “With all due respect, I don’t want to love ‘im because it’ll make me stronger. I just… I love ‘im, ya know?”

The queen chuckled again. “That I do, young Rayla. But fear not, for love cannot be a lie when it makes you powerful.”

“So what should we do?” Callum asked. 

The dragon moved closer and spoke clearly and softly, her maw hardly opening at all. “Find a place where you can be alone. Then, be there together and let your love grow.”

A thought just occurred to Callum, and his face immediately turned beat red. His stomach dropped and his breath caught in is throat. “Mmmm, okay… soooo when you say ‘let our love grow’, you mean like just chatting and stuff right? Maybe some hand-holding and a little smooch or two? You’re not suggesting… well of course you’re not saying…”

He felt Rayla slugg his shoulder and he recoiled from her heated expression. Her face was turning beat red as well. “Of _course_ she’s not suggestin’ that!”

Callum reeled back. “Well I don’t know, it kinda sounded like she was for a second!” 

The Queen’s voice boomed another beat as she laughed at their antics. The two of them stopped their squabbles and looked up at her with their faces red. “All I shall say is this… we dragon’s have a saying: ‘Life is brief.’ It means to embrace the good time you have while you have it, so I suggest you do the same. After all, we dragons live for centuries longer than either of your kinds do.”

  
  


****

* * *

Rayla watched as Callum paced on the landing pad outside the queen’s mountain cavern. The wind occasionally whipped passed her and flung her frosty white hair all about. Her mind was racing and her cheeks continued to feel flush. She pinched her temples and shook her head.

“I can’t believe that love has anything to do with magic.”

Callum turned on his heel and frantically rambled towards her. “Really? Cause I can’t believe we just got the ‘facts-of-life’ talk from the queen of all dragons!”

She nervously looked around the mountain to make sure no one overheard his ranting. “Would you keep it down? Ezran could be close by! And calm down anyways. We’re not going back into war.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” he said in a frantic hush. “I was just a little surprised to hear a flying 100-foot lightening beast tell us to… to do the….” 

“Callum, sit down a minute, okay?” 

He paced one more time and started biting his nails. “Is this something royalty does? They just order people to do stuff like this?”

Rayla groaned and shouted at him. “Cal! Sit your butt down, ya loon!” He sighed and relented coming towards her and joining her sitting cross-legged on the mountains edge. 

“Callum,” she began, “There’s nothing to worry about, okay? She didn’t ‘order’ us to do anything, she was just giving us some advice. What we do and don’t do together is totally up to us, right?”

He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his thick brown hair. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

“And secondly, I think her main point was how magic and love are connected. It makes sense when I think about it actually. Elvish weddings have all these magic rituals involved and the whole town celebrates. Married couples usually do the same job as well; guards, smiths, assassins… maybe this has always been true and I had no idea.”

“I think it’s definitely true,” Callum agreed. “Remember when I was trapped in that dream after using dark magic?”

She shivered at the memory. “And your eyes cot all dark and you had a horrible fever? I remember at one point you almost stopped breathing.”

“It was… I saw my mother.”

Rayla opened her eyes wider. “Your ma?”

He nodded. “I think speaking with her was how I learned what to do with this darkness in me, and it was after that when I could hear your voice. You were calling out to me.”

She smiled faintly and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I was so worried about you. I was scared I was about to lose you.”

“Maybe it was love that let me hear your voice… I don’t know. But I do know that ever since then I’ve felt more magical than ever!” he said with a confident smile. “I feel confident, and smart, and like I can really make a difference in the world!”

She laughed and dropped her hand lower to cover his. “That’s not magic, Callum. That’s all you.”

He smiled back and laced his fingers with hers. “Maybe that is magic. It’s just the kind of magic that comes naturally.”

“You big magic nerd,” she said and gave him a playful shove. They laughed for a moment and watched as the clouds beneath them danced over the plains of Xadia. A moment of tranquil silence passed between them as their hands stayed locked together. She felt his warmth from his shoulder touching hers. She decided that there really wasn’t anything to worry about.

“So,” he said after a while. “Does this mean you….” 

She turned to see him gazing down at the clouds. “Do I what?”

“Do you want to… you know…” he said, a hint of a blush coming back. 

Her gaze returned to the clouds too. “I don’t know… maybe? What about you?”

He frowned and looked up at her nervously. “Look, Rayla… I love you. I really do. But this is all still so new to me. I feel a little nervous.”

“Me too,” she said with a smile. “Sky above, I had never even kissed a man before you.”

“Me neither…” he said, before he caught himself and nervously chuckled. “I mean uh, with a woman.” 

She laughed. “I figured. But kissin’ you… that felt scary at first too. And now…”

“...It’s incredible,” he finished for her. She nodded her head and smiled at him. 

“So, howbout this?” she said softly, gaining his attention and pulling him closer. “Since we’re new, we’ll take it slowly. We’ll take one little scary step and then wait for that not to feel scary anymore before we take the next one.”

“I like that idea,” he said softly, scooting himself closer. She leaned forward and pushed her lips against his. The heat of his skin touching hers lit a soft flame inside her again, just as it had when she had kissed him the first time. Only now she knew that fire was not going to burn her. 

“*Ahem,” Ezran’s voice came from behind them. 

Rayla pulled away and frowned at the wee little peeker. “Yes, we were smoochin’, Ez!” 

  
“Sorry!” He said, holding Bait up as a shield for a moment. “The Dragon Queen said that you guys were going somewhere? She said to help you get a ride with one of the dragons.”

“No worries, Ezran,” Callum said and rose to his feet. “The Queen is sending us on a super secret mission.”

Erzran’s eyes widened. “Ooooohhhh really? Where?” 

Rayla popped up and joined him in the act. “To a super secret place, silly.”

“Awww I wanna come too! As king I order you to let me go too.” 

“Sorry buddy, you’re people need you right now,” he said and gave his brother a hug. “Aunt Amaya is gonna take you to the boarder in a couple of days. We’ll meet up with you there.”

“...Okay,” he said with a frown. Bait groaned in annoyance as well. The boy turned and gestured towards the mountainside where one of the dragons from the battle was resting. “Bregor can help you get to wherever it is you’re going.”

“Thank you, Ezran,” Rayla said sweetly and gave the boy a stiff hug and patted his considerable hair. “Tell the Queen we said thank you.”

“For what?”

Rayla looked back at Callum for a moment before smiling at Ezran. “For the advice.”

  
  


****

* * *

  
  


The air was cool in the sky as they drifted across evening clouds. The wind was whipping passed their ears. The great yellow dragon the rode upon glided easily through the air, being kind enough to avoid the clouds to keep them from getting soaked. Bregor, as Ezran had called him, stayed stoically silent the entire flight. 

Callum’s mind still lingered on ‘letting love grow’ as the queen had called it. But he felt better about everything after Rayla had calmed his nerves. She was right. Anything they decided to do or not to do was entirely their decision and if he wasn’t ready for something, Rayla would understand. But his mind lingered on not know exactly what she was expecting from him. Rayla sat in behind him with her arms around his torso as they flew. He could feel her warm chest pressed up against his back, which wasn’t helping him try to quiet his thoughts. 

“Hey,” he said to her quietly, leaning back so he could speak right into her ear. “Can humans and elves have…. Uhmm.”

“Have what?” she said back. 

He glanced down at the dragon beneath them to make sure his attention was elsewhere. “...kids?”

“Oh!” she said with a gasp.  
  
He bumbled nervously for a moment, thankful for the wind making this conversation private. “I don’t mean…. Look, we’re not doing that anyway, but if we did…?”

She gazed forward and shook her head. “I don’t know, Cal. I doubt anyone has tried it before.”

“Oh…. I was just curious,” he said, fighting a blush on his face. Clearly the conversation got her thinking too. She brushed her lips up right next to his ear to speak as softly as possible and so he could still hear. 

“Do humans even have a ummmm…. A uhhhh,” she stammered for a moment. 

“A what?” 

“Y’know… do the male’s have…” she said and with one arm stretched out in front of both of them, she pointed ‘down’. 

“Ohhh,” he said and blushed again. “Y-yeah. We have that…. Although,”

“Although what?” she said back. Part of him was actually glad she seemed to be as nervous as he was during this conversation. At least it meant they were on the same page. 

“I just don’t know if what _you_ think is down there is what _I_ know is down there…” he explained.

“...” she stayed silent for a moment and then covered his ear with her hand before hushing at him again. “I mean your pecker.”

Callum’s brow furrowed. “Okay, hangon. I’ve never heard it called that before. Are you expecting some kind of _beak_?!”

“Wha–NO! Eww!” he got a shrug on the shoulder. “It’s slang!”

“Well sorry for not knowing Moonshadow Elf slang! I am still a human!” he said. 

Bregor beneath them groaned a little and shifted weight to one side as they continued to fly. They both quieted their voices down to avoid being overheard. After a moment, she scooted back up to his ear and whispered again. “Alright…. A phallus… penis…. long fleshy thing.”

He could tell from her broken voice that she was beat red at this point. As was he, to be fair. Instead of risking repeating her words, he simply nodded. “But again, I don’t know if the human’s have what Elves have...”

Silence followed for several minutes. She kept her arms around his waist and her body squeezed tightly against his. He could feel her apprehension, as if she was wanting to say something else but couldn’t bring herself to. Finally, after they were over the Midnight Desert, she whispered again. 

“Can I feel it?”

If he wasn’t blushing before, he was certainly doing it now. He immediately leaned back and gave her frantically hushed whispers in her ear, trying his best to keep it discreet. “Right now?! Do you really think that while we’re a mile above the ground on the back of a fire-breathing dragon is the best time?”

“Sorry!” she said nervously. “I was just curious. It’s not like he’d know anyway,” she said, gesturing down to Bregor. “But if you don’t want to… if you don’t want me to…”

“I… Rayla…” Callum was officially nervous, but now he was aware of what he was nervous about. He was much more nervous about doing something that might offend the dragon than having her touch him, and that thought actually made him feel a little more at ease. After all, he had panicked at the thought of being forced to be more intimate with her before, but now he knew that she was just as scared as he was. He also couldn’t deny that there were some things he was curious about. _Would it even be possible?_

That thought got the best of him. “Okay,” he said softly. 

“You sure?” she said back. He nodded and sat a little more upright. He gave a nervous gulp but his heart and mind were both racing, wanting answers himself. His body shuddered when one of her hands moved away from his torso and down to his waist. 

  
“Alright…” she said again and dipped her hand lower into his traveling trousers. 

He winced as her fingers had grown cold from the evening sky, but they quickly warmed up as she shifted her hand down his hips and closer to his groin. His heart was still racing and his breath caught in his chest. Then her fingers grazed over his thigh. She seemed to be a little lost at first, and Callum thought she might give up. But soon she drifted over him and he heard her gasp as she felt it. 

“What?” he said frantically. “Is it bad?”

“No no…” she reassured him. She gripped it lightly in her finger, shifting around to get a good sense for all of it. “This is alright…. It’s good.”

He breathed a sigh of relief as she continued to explore his body slowly but carefully. Her hands felt small with so few fingers, but her touch was gentle and getting increasingly warm and inviting. Callum closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment, letting her learn as much as she could from their midnight ride. He felt her legs graze his, and her other hand squeezed around his torso a little tighter. 

“Oh!” she said with a little chuckle. 

“What?” he said in a whisper. 

“I can feel you ‘warmin-up’ to me,” she said softly. She was right of course. He had started to ‘warm up’ more as she touched him, but the playful tone in her voice was what really made him squirm. He bit his lip and leaned a little bit backwards to give her better access. 

“... you havin’ fun there, Cal?” she said with another giggle. He could only nod and moan slightly as her hand gently glided across him, and it felt good. More than good, it felt amazing. 

“Okay,” he said, leaning back forward. He lifted up one hand from the dragon’s back and tapped her arm lightly. She got the message and withdrew her hand. The warmth and pressure vanished and he breathed a little easier, but the erection that was now pressing up against his pants did not make it comfortable to sit on the dragon’s back any longer. 

“You alright?” she asked, the playful tone now replaced with concerned one. 

“Yeah, I’m fine…” he said and took hold of the dragon again. “Did you get the answer you were looking for?”

She leaned forward and nestled her cheek up against his. His scarf fit underneath her chin as she whispered in his ear. “Aye, I did.”

“And?” he said, his heart rate starting to pick up again. 

“And it’ll work, Callum. This could work.”

****

* * *

Rayla still felt butterflies from the flight after they had bid farewell to Bregor. Night had already fallen and the large trees of the Silvergrove swayed lightly in the night breeze. But inside she felt both amazing and anxious for more. She felt a rush when she had explored his body earlier, and a wave of confidence when he had clearly enjoyed her touch. She wasn’t sure what to do next but she knew she wanted to do it, whatever it was. 

“Wait,” Callum paused as they walked down a large tree branch towards the pastures of her home town. “You brought us to Silvergrove?”

“No, it’s another illusion,” she teased.  
  


“Really?”

“No, you daft moose,” she said and tapped his arm. “I brought us home.”

“But R-Rayla…” Callum stammered and moved closer to speak quietly. “What about the whole being-alone part? Wasn’t that part of the whole thing with the Queens advice?”

She kept walking towards her town and brought him closer to town center. “Well, I figured the ‘ghost’ spell hasn’t been undone yet, so look around! We’re totally alone!”

Callum looked from one wayward elf to the next. She saw him make the connection in his head when he noticed how their faces were still blank. They couldn’t see or hear either of them still. “Oh I get it!”

“See? We could go anywhere here and they’d have no idea we were there.”

“But Rayla,” he continued. She felt his hand grasp hers and pull her closer to him. His face was full of concern. “The last time we were here, I saw your heart break a little. Are you sure you wanna be around this place while we’re still ‘ghosted’? It can’t be easy to see your home like this.”

She smiled at him and placed a hand on his cheek. “See, this is why I love you.”

“Hmm?” he said, a little confused. 

She poked his nose for effect. “Here we are on a mission that involves puttin’ ma hand round your pecker, and you still are concerned about how I’m feelin’. You’re sweet and thoughtful and I love you.” She leaned forward and kissed him briefly. 

He broke away and smiled at her. “So you’re okay then?”

“Yes, I’m fine. The news of what happened with the dragon queen will be here soon, and they’ll pull the spell from me. I know they will.”

  
“Alright,” he said and smiled confidently. “And please don’t call it that. I still can’t get the image of a horrifying beak out of my brain.”

She rolled her eyes and took him by the hand. “Com’on, I’ll show you to my place.”

Rayla led him up the silvery steps and green hills over her home. The wayward moths and forest critters seemed not to mind their presence any more than the faceless elves did. She led them up a familiar road where the sound of flowing water started to grow. Finally, they arrived at a modest silver home with ornate carvings drawn into the wooden doorways and windows. It sat nestled on a hill that overlooked a small pond hidden away from most of town. 

“Here we are!” she said cheerfully. She adored the look of charm he had on his face as he observed her home. “Whatd’ya think?”

“It’s great!” he said honestly. “You grew up here?”

She nodded. “Back when Mum and Dad were alive, yeah. Since then I’ve been livin’ at my uncles home a few hills that way. But it’s good to be home again.”

She stepped forward and pushed the silver doors open. The smell of home always lingered when she was away for too long. The moonlight streaked through delicate windows and across the lambswool rug. The fireplace looked a bit dusty and the floor could use a good sweeping, but it was home none the less. 

“It’s beautiful,” Callum said. 

She smiled at him and pulled him towards her room. “Come-on. We best get you some clothes.”

“Clothes?” Callum said with some surprise. 

“Well yeah. If people can’t hear or see us, I bet soon they’ll smell us. We haven’t bathed at all since we left your kingdom.”

“Ohhhhh,” Callum said. He quietly gave his scarf a sniff and grimaced at his own smell. 

“Oye, that smelly scarf saved our hides, so be grateful we get to clean it all up now.”

“So what’s the plan for that?” He said. She caught a hint of nerves in his voice now. Clearly he hadn’t forgotten about their ‘exploration’ in the clouds a few hours earlier, and neither had she. 

“Oh, well…” she began, turning to face the window. “See that pond down there?”

“Yeah,” he said looking over her shoulder.  
  


“That’s gonna be the bath for today. We’ll worry about washin’ the clothes tomorrow.”

He nodded and looked back at her hesitantly. “Sounds peaceful… and cold.”

“Oh, you’ll find it’s quite warm,” she assured him. 

Then, she rushed into her old bedroom and fetched a couple of things out of the dresser. She had a few tunics and robes that were more on the loose side for her, and she was a wee bit taller than he was anyway so he’d likely fit proper in her clothes. She gathered them up and brought a few towels back into the living room where she found Callum stacking logs in the fireplace. 

“Those for me?” He asked, gesturing to the pile of clothes in her hand. 

“Mmm? Oh yes. These should do before we get your own clothes clean.”

“Perfect. I always heard elven clothes were comfortable.”

She scowled. “Who told you that?”

He stood and shrugged bashfully. “No one. I don’t know, I just guessed they would be.”

“Well they are, so you’re right,” she said confidently. She paused as she saw him pick up the flint rocks and kneel down as if to start the fire. “Wait, shouldn’t we start the fire afterwards?”

“I figured I’d get the fire started while you go wash up, then once you’re done the fire will be already warm for you by the time you get back. I’ll wash up after you,” he explained and gave the flint another couple of strikes. 

“Oh,” she murmured dejectedly. “Right, of course…”

She placed his clothes and towel on the couch and turned towards the back door. A small trail would lead her down to the pond where moonlight and gleaming water would soothe her back to feeling at home again. But she hesitated at the door and nervously turned around. Callum was quietly cursing at the flint rocks for being uncooperative. The fire hadn’t started yet…

“Callum?” she called out. 

He turned and looked at her. “Yeah?”

“Do you…. D’ya wanna come with me?”

Callum shot straight up and dropped the flint rocks. His face went red, and hers quickly did as well. His face was one of both shock and intense focus. She immediately regretted asking and made a move to leave.

“––It’s no problem––”

  
“–-If you want––”

They both said at the same time. “––wait, what?” they both said again. 

  
Another brief moment of silence passed before Callum bucked up the courage to take a few steps closer to her. Every foot of distance he closed made her more and more excited and less and less nervous. “Can you ask me that again?” He said softly. “Just makin’ sure I heard you right.”

“You heard me right,” she said with a nod. “Y-your choice. Your clothes are right there, so either wait for me to finish or… don’t.” With that, she turned on her heel and made her way out the door and down the stone steps towards the streaming pond. 

She made it about halfway down before she heard the door open again from behind her. Her heart did an ecstatic little dance but she refused to turn and face him. Instead, she kept her gaze forward towards the moonlit water and laid her clothes and towel by the water’s edge. 

She unbuckled her knives from their holsters around her back and let them fall to the side. The metal clanked to the ground and her shoulders felt free again. She then took a deep breath and went to undo her assassin’s tunic. 

“It’s alright, I won’t look,” she heard from behind her. His voice was kind and gentle. She didn’t even need to turn around to check if he was telling the truth. She simply undid her clothes and flung them to the side. She took another deep breath and dove in. Rocks at the bottom of this particular pond were enchanted to keep them hot, so the water was always warm enough to bathe in. It felt heavenly on her weary muscles after so much had happened. She popped her head above the water and took a satisfied breath. 

“Alright, you ninny. Come on in!” she said teasingly. 

He turned around from the water’s edge and looked at her with a slightly embarrassed look on his face still. The darkness and moonlight glistening on the surface obscured anything he could see from there, but she had no intention of keeping her body a secret from him. She just enjoyed the teasing. Speaking of which. 

“Are you gonna turn away too?” he asked as he began kicking off his boots. 

“Nope!” she said with a happy giggle. 

“Wha… now that’s hardly fair,” he said with his arms crossed.

“Hey now, I never said you couldn’t look. And if you wanna go back up to the house, you’re more than welcome to.” Oh she did absolutely love teasing him. He pouted and shook his head at her, making her laugh even more. At one point she laughed so hard she could barely keep her head above water. “Ohhh love, you should see your face. You look like Bait!” More laughs, more splashing, then the sound of his Jacket and book satchel hitting the grass. 

She stopped laughing. She watched as he undid the buttons on his vest one by one. She felt compelled to tell him it was alright, that she’d look away, but something about his confident eyes told her that he didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, he wanted her eyes on him. Maybe as payback, maybe for the thrill, but either way he kept his eyes locked with hers. 

His vest came off, revealing his bare chest and barley skin. He undid his belt and his trousers fell to the ground with a thud. Finally, before she could say anything, his undergarments hit the ground and he was now fully bare before her. Her eyes stayed locked with his for a moment, but she couldn’t help but look over all of him. She had touched him in his most intimate areas already, but seeing and touching seemed somehow distant from each other, she realized. Then he dashed forward and jumped into the water with a splash and disappeared below the surface. 

“Callum?” she said as she swam around a little nervously. “Callum, I swear if you try ta spook me, I’m puttin’ ya in a headlock––”

“BOO!” A massive splash and roar of his voice came from behind her and she yelped in surprise. She heard him laugh and wheeze at her squealing as he swam around her to see her scowling at him angrily. 

“That’s not funny,” she said coldly. 

“Ahhhh you’re right about the water being warm! This feels great!”

“Yes, you can thank the sunrise kingdom. We bought some of their heated rocks and lined the bottom of the Forbidden Pond with them so it feels like heaven.”

“Ah that makes sen––wait,” he froze. “Did you say ‘forbidden’?”

She smirked for a moment and swam closer to him. “Oh yes. This is the Forbidden Pond. It’s strictly prohibited to swim here.” 

“What? Rayla!” 

“Well not to simply swim, per se. It’s forbidden to skinny-dip,” she continued pushing him. 

“You’re joking…. Right?”

“Nope. More specifically, it’s forbidden to swim with a lover in the Forbidden Pond, under pain of banishment or…. Worse,” she drove her point home by running her finger across her neck. 

“We gotta get outa here, Rayla! What if someone catches us?!” Callum began swimming for the pond’s edge frantically. She caught him by the ankle and dragged him back from the edge but into shallow water where they could both stand. 

“Relax, Callum,” she said with a laugh. “I said it’s ‘forbidden’.” 

  
“Yeah?! And?” he asked nervously. 

“It’s forbidden for moonshadow elves. So… naturally… everyone’s done it,” she clarified for him. He took a moment to think about it, but it seemed to dawn on him when he relaxed his muscles and eased in closer. 

  
“That’s not funny,” he said with a sigh. 

“Awww is poor Callum got his feelings hurt? Wanna share? This is a good ‘big feelings’ time, if you want to.”

He smirked and swam a little closer. “I didn’t think you remembered ‘big feelings’.” 

“Of course I did, silly,” she scolded him. “You told me about that right before…” 

“The oasis in the desert,” he remembered. “You were pretty upset then.”

“Yes,” she recalled. “I threw quite a fight at you too. Tellin’ ya ta get away, like you were a nuisance. But you saw through me and knew exactly what I needed to hear.”

“I just told you the truth,” he said softly. “That you’re brave, and relentless, and you always pick yourself back up again. You’re funny, and fast, and beautiful.”

“Callum,” she sighed softly. Her cheeks flushing red again for the thousandth time that day. 

“I believe my words were ‘the most amazing person I’ve ever met’. So yeah, it’s just the truth,” he said. 

She smiled at him and ran her warm fingers over his cheek. “I also remember we agreed never to speak of that night again.”

He laughed. “Yeah well, I kissed you back the next day, so that promise is void.”

“Is it now?” she said, floating ever closer to him. The warm rocks on her feet now felt cool by comparison to the skin that was inches away from his. 

“What, do you disagree?” he said with a cocked eyebrow. 

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I just want ya to kiss me again.”

He leaned forward and grazed his fingers over her horns and through her hair. 

“Rayla…” he said before she closed the distance between them. Her lips were the source of fire at the beginning, but pretty soon her arms were running up his chest, her hands grasping round his neck. His arms ushered her closer, wrapping around her back. She eagerly pressed herself against him fully and let out a soft moan into his lips. All of her skin against all of his skin now. It was electric and soothing at the same time. She wanted more and wanted all at once. 

He shifted himself and kissed her harder, which made her body cry out for more. She moaned again and squeezed him harder. Every slight step forward or backward the made her whole body grind a few inches up or down his. The friction was like the flint rocks for a fire that was already raging. 

She broke their embrace and gazed at his green eyes, looking like they were in half a daze. “Rayla…” he breathed.  
  
“You feel amazing,” she breathed. 

“You _are_ amazing,” he said back. 

“I feel so… ohh,” she muttered. 

“What?”

She smirked and cocked an eyebrow at him. “Well, it’s either a soul-serpent pokin’ at my thigh, or you’re just happy to see me.”

“Oh jeeze!” he said and broke their embrace with some heavy splashing. She regretted teasing him again in that moment. He was clearly nervous about everything going on, and she did promise to take things slowly. “Sorry Rayla.”

“Callum, no it’s alright. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have joked like that,” she confessed. “We don’t have to move any faster if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s alright Rayla. I’m being weird. I … I want this. I want you… I mean, clearly…” he trailed off and sank a little bit deeper. 

“Can I tell you something, Callum?” she said and swam a little closer to him. 

“What?”

She kept herself low enough so that her neck was always at the waterline, but she reached out and took his hands. “I love that I can make you feel this way.”

“You do?” He asked seriously. 

“Yes,” she nodded, mirroring his tone. “It makes me feel happy knowing that being with me excites you. It makes me feel… I don’t know… like I’m... “

“Sexy?” he ventured for her. 

  
“I guess that is what I’m feelin’,” she realized. “I don’t think I’ve ever known what this would feel like until today, but now I know it’s because of you, Callum. And… though my body doesn’t show it the same way yours does… you make me excited too.”

He looked up and met her eyes again. “I do? Really?”

“You’re sexy, Callum. You’ve got this boyish charm about you and, with the occasional stroke of confidence, it makes me feel like Spriteflower jelly.”

He smiled at her and rejoined her towards the center of the pond again. “So when did I have that ‘occasional stroke of confidence’, you were talking about.”

“You don’t remember?” she said in surprise. “It literally just happened!”

“Really?” he said and looked around him for something to jog his memory. “I really don’t.”

“Well, you had this look in your eye while...–okay, come here.” She took him by the hand and swam them both over towards the edge of a rock wall where the pond was being fed by a stream. The water started to get shallower and she stopped them. “You stay here.”

“Okay…” he said with an uncertain tone. 

She turned and took another deep breath before walking forwards along the pond floor. Each step, forward, the pond go progressively shallower and shallower until she was at the base of the brook feeding the pond. The water there was only about a foot deep or so, so her entire backside was now totally exposed to him. She put herself in the mind of when they were kissing in the water not long ago, and to when they were flying together. She thought about every time he had looked at her with affection, and turned around. 

His eyes were wide but his expression was soft. She had his attention at full tilt now, and she placed a hand on her hip letting him see every part of her. Part of her felt it was only fair, but another part of her relished in how he was looking at her. It was a new feeling for her, being this exposed. But with Callum, she never felt a moment of shame or apprehension. He was giving her the same amazed look he had whenever she showed him a new part of Xadia. Amazement, wonder, and a hint of appreciation were in his eyes in those moments. 

“Do you get what I mean now?” she said. 

“I think so,” he said with a nod. She smiled at him and took a brief look down at herself. She felt beautiful, but not because she could see it like he did. It was because of him that she felt that way. 

“So,” she wondered. “Am… am I what you were expecting?”

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Am I like a human girl?” she asked. Part of her suddenly became nervous that maybe the reason he was staring was not because he was floored by her, but rather because he saw something there that humans don’t have. Or maybe she was missing something?

“No,” he said softly. She looked up in horror, expecting him to say something about her body that was so different from humans that it might be too much. Maybe she could find a way to make him happy with herself if she could–– “No humans on the planet are as beautiful as you are.”

Her heart flipped around and she felt like she might fall over. “Aww Callum… that’s so sSWAAAA!” smooth wet rocks beneath her feet started to shift and she quickly lost her balance. Tipping forward she fell into the shallow water, thankfully deep enough to cushion her fall but shallow enough for her to hit the bottom. She rose for air and gasped and coughed at the sudden influx of fluid down her windpipe. 

“Rayla! You okay?” She felt him pull her by her arm and into deeper warmer water, holding her her up with his arms and looking over her with concern.  
  
She coughed again and waved him off. “I’m fine, Callum. I’m just a big clutz is all.” 

“That must have been the first time I’ve ever seen you fall before,” he wondered aloud. That made her laugh and playful splash some water on his cheek. 

“Well don’t get used to it, human. I’m just sorry for ruining the mood I suppose,” she said with a pout. 

Callum laughed and shook his head. “You didn’t ruin the mood.” 

“Yes I did, Callum. Don’t try to be nice about it.”

“Rayla, you didn’t ruin the mood,” he assured her. 

“Yeah? Prove it,” she said with another pout. 

He stared at her for a moment silently, as if waiting for her to say something else. When she stayed quiet, he gave his shoulders a light shrug before easing her deeper into the water. She drifted down and more warmth covered her body, but she didn’t know what he was on about until she felt her rump press against that same soul-serpent from earlier. Only now it was firmer and hotter than it was last time. 

Her eyes opened in surprise and her mouth zipped closed. “Oh,” was all she could mutter before he brought her back up. Their faces were close again, and the cool night air touched her arm that was draped over his shoulder. He held her there for several moments just being with her, and her mind began to catch up with what her body was eager for. 

“Callum?” she asked softly. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m not scared of this step anymore,” she explained. “But I want to know… how many more steps do you feel comfortable taking tonight?”

“Rayla I…. I feel so close to you right now, and I’m …. I’m not scared either. Not anymore. Not of anything.”

She smiled at him and pushed some of his wet hair out of his face to see him a little better. “Me too, Callum. But that doesn’t exactly answer the question,” she said and waited for his response. She didn’t want things left to signals in this moment. She wanted to know what he wanted. 

“I think… as long as we don’t accidentally see if elves and humans can have kids, then I am comfortable with anything. So, I guess, short of the… real thing… I will go with you anywhere.”

Rayla’s brow furrowed and she shuffled out of his arms. “Hangon,” she said in confusion. She looked up at the sky… no, it was only a waning crescent moon at best… what was he on about? “What are you on about?”

“Uhhh,” he stammered and sheepishly looked down. “You know… making love?”

“Yes, I got that part. Why are you afraid of accidentally making children?” she asked him. He looked at her as if he was now just totally lost. She rubbed her forehead and shook her head with a groan. Then, she gestured to the sky, the pond splashing ash she raised her arm out of the water. “See? The moon’s hardly a sliver!”

His look of confusion doubled, and he snapped between looking at her and the moon. “Okay, you’ve officially lost me now, Rayla. What’s the moon got to do with anything?”

“It’s not full! I can’t get pregnant unless the moon is full,” she explained loudly and clearly. 

His look of confusion turned immediately to astonishment. “What?! Is that a Moonshadow-Elf thing?”

  
“I…hmmm.” Now it was Rayla’s turn to feel sheepish. She having spelled it out now, it made sense that the moon affected moonshadow elves when making more moonshadow elves. Then she turned to Callum with a raised eyebrow. “I guess so? But if you didn’t know that, than how does it work for humans?”

“How does what work?” he asked. 

She was growing annoyed at this point. “Having children! How do you know when you can conceive?”

“Humans don’t have special times when we can and can’t make kids,” Callum explained. “Every day of every month of every year, babies are gettin’ made somewhere.”

“What?!” Rayla was beyond shocked at this point. Everything she thought she new about birthdays and parents and marriage was now in question. “Wait, so humans can make children every time they have sex?”

“Yes!” Callum said with a slight laugh. He seemed happy that she was getting it now. 

“So does your species avoid sex all together?” she asked, a little worriedly. That was definitely not part of her culture, but it also didn’t make sense considered everything they had been through so far. 

“No!” He said, now chuckling to himself. 

She began to laugh as well. “So how are you not just poppin’ babies out all the time?”

“We _are_!!!” he exclaimed and rolled backwards with laughter. She choked and began laughing as well, heaving heavy breaths before starting to roll into laughter with him as well. “Why do you think we’re always having food shortages?” 

Their laughter was so strong now that it was taking every ounce of breath out of their lungs. She felt tears coming to her eyes and she had to hold onto his shoulder for support to keep from drowning. Her stomach was hurting to the point where the laughter subsided and she could catch her breath. 

“Ohhhh, my dear sweet human. You’ll take over the earth someday!”

“Let’s hope not. There’d be no food left over anymore.”

  
She laughed again and turned to face him. She brought him into her arms and pulled him into a tight hug. They both continued chuckling for a little while before he sighed and ran his hand idly up and down her back. The moment turned soft and tender as they stood in the pond, holding each other closely. “You’re funny, Callum.”

“Thanks,” he said softly. 

“I mean it. Somehow you can make a cold-blooded assassin like me laugh whenever you want to.”

He raised a finger as if to retort. “Don’t forget the times I accidentally make you laugh, usually at my expense.”

She giggled and squeezed him tighter. “Yes, those too. I love each of those little moments with you.”

She felt him run his fingers through her damp hair. He gave her scalp a light scratch that felt quite nice, so she gave him a little kiss on his neck in response. More moments of soft silence passed between them just pressing their bodies against each other. The water was still warm but their bodies were warmer yet. After a few minutes of this pleasant floating, she pulled away and looked at him. 

“So?” she asked him with a longing expression. 

“So…. oh,” he realized what she had meant and took a few moments to think it over. “I… are you sure you couldn’t tonight? What if it’s the men and not the women the full moon works on?”

“Mm-mm,” she said confidently and pulled him closer. “See these markings under my eyes?”

“Of course,” he said easily. “I see them everyday.”

“During the full moon, if I am able to get pregnant and get ‘excited’, shall we say… these markings will glow with soft blue moonlight,” she explained. “And tonight, they are dark violet like always.”

“So you’re positive…” he confirmed. 

“Yes… But,” she stopped them. “I don’t want you to think we have to. If you’re not comfortable or unsure or need more time, I get it.”

His head turned to the side. His emerald eyes gazing at his surroundings, and then back to her. He smiled, leaned forward, and kissed her softly. This wasn’t a fiery passionate embrace, but rather a quiet and intimate motion as soft as a promise. He pulled back and held her close. “There are a lot of things in this world that I’m unsure of, Rayla. But how I feel about you is not one of them.”

She smiled so wide her cheeks nearly felt soar. “Does that mean you want to?”

“Stop talking and kiss me,” he said in yet another occasion of confidence, and heavens damn her if she did not kiss him.

She threw herself against him and pulled him in tightly. She heard him moan when their hips met up together and it fueled the fire more. She pressed her chest against his and moaned as his hands started move down to the small of her back. In a few moments of passion and heated breaths between them, his erection had returned and this time she egged it on further. She rose up onto her toes and allowed her hips to grind downward onto his. The motion sent his erection grinding along her loins and she shuddered at the touch. He moaned as their hips started to move lightly, keeping their lips locked but slowly increasing the grinding until the water between them was all but forgotten. 

His hand grazed her rear, and she could tell he wanted to feel here there. She rolled her hips around, bumping into his hand a few times to egg him on further. He took the hint and gave her left cheek a soft pull and gentle massage. Her body wanted more, telling her to raise her leg and wrap it around him. 

Suddenly they stopped and broke away. Their foreheads pressed together and the gasped for air, looking longingly into each other’s eyes. “Come here,” she said and ushered him closer to the edge of the water. 

She guided him down until he was sitting upright, his back up against the bank and his head just out of the water. “I was thinking,” she started as she moved around him. “I had this wonderful chance to explore your body while we were flying…”

“I think I see what you’re getting at,” he said and held his hands out for her. She took them and straddled her legs on either side of him, facing away. She slowly sat down and planted her rear up against his hips. His erection sticking out between her legs and up against her sensitive vulva. 

“Go on,” she encouraged him. His hands wrapped around her torso and he squeezed her tight, just as she had in the skies earlier. Only this time, they were in warm water instead of in fridged clouds. His chest on her back felt welcoming and wonderful. She gave her hips a little wiggle against him playfully before his hand moved lower. 

“That’s it,” she said happily, resting her head beside his, her horn grasing his hair. She could hear him breathe in her ear beside her as he squeezed her again and moved his had further down. Finally, he found the warmest spot in the pond and ran his fingers over her. 

“Mmmmm,” she cooed softly, telling him to continue. His fingers were gentle and slow, as if cradling a luna moth in his palm. He would run his fingers down as low as he could before slowly dragging them back upwards. On the way up, her body would stiffen and shudder before feeling warm and light on the way back down. He continued this pace, exploring her lips and kissing her neck. His other arm stayed wrapped around her torso, but her grinding against him made it seem like she was trying to break loose. 

“Ohhhh… Callum,” she moaned into his ear. That was when his finger pressed inwards, only slightly. She felt the pressure immediately and stopped her grinding. The pressure returned for a moment and she shifted her hips to give him better access. The pressure came back one more time, and she realized he was knocking on the door. He wasn’t going to barge in without her invitation. 

“Yes,” she said with a breath and a nod. She placed a hand on his and pushed deeper. 

His finger slipped inside her and he moaned into her shoulder. “Rayla, you’re so warm.”

“Mmmm,” she moaned again and started grinding her hips again. His fingers were moving down over her sensitive spot as they rolled in and out of her. His pace quickened, and his grip tightened. She realized that every grind of her hips meant her thighs grazing his erection, so she quicken the pace as well. 

She pulled his free hand upwards onto her breast, and there it stayed massaging her fervently as his other hand worked electricity into her mind. His bare chest was hot on her back, and she found herself nearly out of breath despite her lips being free this time. 

“Callum….” she called out his name. “Keep going…” 

He continued his kisses up her neck and took her long ear into his mouth, giving it a nibble. A muffled cry escaped her mouth through a broken smile when she felt herself building towards something. His consistent pace and wonderfully caring grip allowed her to lose herself to the feeling until nothing was left but his body against hers. 

“Cal… I’m …. Ohhhh!!” She felt herself squeeze around his finger as her body instinctively rocked back and forward. “Deeper!” she cried out, and he obliged. The pressure now was just enough to sustain a rolling orgasm that caused her back to buck and her hips to grind against him. He breathed out gasps into her ear as he squeezed her body against his. The spasms and bright feelings washed over her again and again until she felt the need to gasp for air. 

“Ahhhh,” she cried and sank onto her partner with an eager sigh. “That was… Callum, you’re…. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

He smiled, apparently a little out of breath himself. “I just… I just did what you asked me to,” he confessed. 

“Well… *huff*... it worked,” she said. “You’re incredible at this.”

“Come’ere,” he said with a smile and turned her over. They began kissing again sweetly, her body resting peacefully on his. She found herself smiling as they kissed, happy and full of life in the moment. 

“Callum,” she said after a few more moments of tender embrace. “I still want you.”

“Are you sure?” he asked softly. “Rayla, this is a big step.”

“I think saving the kingdom of Xadia was a bigger step than this,” she said and kissed his cheek. 

“Fair point, but we need to be sure this is what we want.”

“This is what we want,” she said confidently. “Like you said: the world is full of mysteries, but this isn’t one of them.”

He put a finger to his chin. “Hmmm, pretty sure I phrased like––”

  
“Oh just lay down on the grass, ya buffalo toad,” she snarked and helped him raise himself out of the water. He laid down, his legs still dangling into the water at the knee. His erection was still strong as he pointed himself up at the sky. Clearly the cooler air had not dampened his spirit, or by the very least his loins. 

She rose as well out of the water, spilling some onto his chest as she straddled over him. She laid down onto his skin and kissed him, thankful for the warmth again of his chest. Her breasts pressed against him and his slippery skin was easy to grind on.

“Rayla… Rayla!” he gasped. She stopped and looked down at him. His expression was of desperate longing. “I don’t need any teasing. Please…”

_This will not take long_ she said to herself and, with a wide smile she positioned herself on top of him. “Are you ready?” she asked him at the threshold. 

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Rayla, are you?”

“I am,” she said happily and eased herself down. The feeling was just as warm as she had hoped, but there were new feelings as well. There was a fullness to him that she felt satisfaction from, like pressure but internally. Soon he was deeper than his finger could have gone, and she felt herself spread wider until he was as deep as he could go. He let out a long low moan of pleasure when she grinded against him. His eyes were half-lidded, and they darted from their groins pressed together to her face, then to her chest and back to her eyes again. “Rayla!”

She leaned down and pressed her whole body against him again. There was this tactile texture to skin that the water seemed to muffle or dilute that was now raging inside her with every move against her skin. He gasped and moaned and wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing her against him again. Their wet chests slipping up and down each others as she grinded him in and out of her. She kissed him, and finally his moans became cries of desperation. 

“Rayla!” he grunted and held her close. “Rayla…ooohhhhh!”

He finally grunted and grinded himself into her as deep as he could before his arms clamped down on her, holding her in place. She could feel him inside her pulsating and spasming, and she felt a fluid warmth inside her as well. Rayla was holding her own breath out of sheer bliss as he came for her. She squeezed herself down on him, trying to hold him there to keep this feeling going forever. His grunts and desperate cries made her feel like she was giving him the pleasure of his life, and it filled her with satisfaction. 

Finally, he found his breath again as the last of his orgasm rocked him back into consciousness and he eased his grip on her back. He breathed so heavily that Rayla could feel herself rising and falling with each gasp. 

“That’s it, just breathe,” she soothed him and ran her fingers through his hair. 

“Rayla….” he gasped and kissed her cheek. “You’re incredible.”

  
“I know,” she said and prodded her nose against his happily. “I feel it, when I’m with ya.” 

“Good,” he said and closed his eyes, smiling at his life. “That means you’ll want to spend more time with me.”

She nestled into the crook of his neck and closed her eyes as well. “I do, you silly human.” 

“Now I see how humans have been able to get by so long without having primal magic born within them,” he said lazily. 

She could feel his voice starting to dip into sleep territory, and her own body was ready for it as well. “Why’s that?” she asked. 

“Who needs magic when you have this,” he said. 

With that, he used the rest of his strength to pull one of the towels by the bank away from the fresh clothes and draped it over them like a blanket. The warm feeling came back to her, and her eyelids refused to open. Everything just felt so perfect that moving might make it disappear. 

Perhaps they slept there for only a few minutes, or perhaps it was several hours. But it would not be the last night spent in the ‘Forbidden’ Pond. 


End file.
